Underneath well known streets in the inner city new signs have popped up, with names like LAWNS INTO GARDENS, VACANT PROPERTY TAX and IMPACTED BY SUBURBIA.

Created by German artistic duo Martin Keil and Henrik Mayer, who call themselves 'Reinigungsgesellschaft' (Cleaning Service in German), the signs were the product of an artist-in-residence program sponsored by the city council and extensive public consultation by the artists.

"I think what appealed to us what that this was that they were conceptual artists and their idea was to have an ongoing dialogue with the community and come up with some ideas," says Mayor Alannah MacTiernan.

"We engaged them and they proposed the street signs. We didn't vet any of this, you can't when you're having art, and you've got to let the artist have that sort of control."

"It's true that these artists came with a very European greenie perspective and they had a particular ideological framework."

"Missing Tooth Street, for instance, was a response to concerns that there were many properties that are left vacant in the inner city area for years, and they become very derelict and that seems like a waste."

"It's created a fair amount of intrigue; it's probably done more than a lot of our public art project to create some intrigue and mystery."

"By and large we get positive feedback, and people go and try to spot more signs."

The 23 new street names have been positioned at 29 intersections around the city, with the council committing to leave them in place for the next two years.